	Second Home Magazine March 2001 A House on Lucky Street” An Amelia Island beach home weathers the years gracefully. By Meg R. Sparwath Photography by Scott Moore
Enthusiasm pours out of Marlee Krohn when she talks about her and husband Todd’s beachfront home on Amelia Island, Florida. “We knew we wanted the house the instant we walked in. It was perfect,” Marlee says. The previous owners were also very attached to the house, as they had decided to take it off the market at about the same time the Krohns set eyes on it. In 1998, after nine months of persistence on the part of the Krohns, the previous owners decided to sell after all. Enthusiasm for the home is contagious. Ida Solomon, a project manager at Pineapple House Interior Design™ in Atlanta, learned of the Krohns’ second home when they chose Stephen Pararo of Pineapple House as their designer.
	Solomon was so interested in the Krohn’s 72-year old house that she chose it as the thesis for her master’s degree in historic preservation. “Beachfront houses like this one are rare. It survived hurricanes and years of saltwater,” Solomon says. Not only did this house survive, but a little cluster of homes on the same street in the island’s oldest section, Fernandina Beach, remain intact as well-a lucky street indeed. The story behind the cottage is an endearing one. The Krohns share a common walkway with the neighbors’ house, as the original owners purposely built next door to their best friends (who still own the house). Today, the Krohns are friends with both the original owners of their home and their connecting neighbors.
Pararo, a longtime friend of Marlee’s family, seemed to know exactly what the three-bedroom, one-bathroom home needed in order to shine. “I would never have anyone else do a project for me,” Marlee says. “Stephen has great instincts and does beautiful work.” Most of the original house was intact, so the Krohns wanted to preserve as much as possible. “The curly-pine walls, mantel, floors, clapboard doors and architectural features are original,” Solomon notes. Layers of paint were removed to expose seafoam-green beaded-board walls. “We just put a stain over them to bring out the color,” Marlee explains. The paint also was removed from the two-piece mantel, exposing its natural wood surface—a perfect display shelf for the seashells Marlee and Todd gather on their beach strolls. Pararo kept the color scheme simple, natural and relaxing, with white, cream and an occasional silver accent thrown in. A distressed finish was added to much of the furniture to create a subdued, lived-in look, while natural shades of wood are found throughout the home in items such as baskets and various pieces of furniture.
	Seagrass rugs, wooden blinds and denim upholstery are durable yet simple materials that complement the rest of the home. And the house is certainly not devoid of personal touches. Pieces such as those from Marlee’s childhood bedroom suite are scattered throughout the house, and her grandparents’ table and chairs sit invitingly in the dining nook. Yet it is the original tongue-and-groove pine floors that pull the entire look together and anchor the house. Despite the home’s generally good condition, two rooms needed major renovations: the kitchen and the bathroom. Both were outdated and impractical, if not unusable. “There was no kitchen to speak of—nothing but an old sink,” Marlee says. “And the bathroom shower was about to fall in. It was almost an outdoor shower. You could see people outside when you were in it and they could see you.” The couple added a shower to the bathroom’s old clawfoot tub, along with double sinks and mirrors. A few coats of white paint applied to the beaded-board walls kept with the neutral color palette of the rest of the home. All of the home’s windows were replaced, and at Pararo’s suggestion, the old windows were saved and many used as decorative wall hangings—instant art with a splash of history. The couple makes the 45-minute trip (including ferry ride) from their primary home in Jacksonville, Florida, as often as they can. Although their Jacksonville home is close to the ocean, the couple’s mindset takes a 180-degree turn when they head to Amelia Island. “They are totally different worlds.
Getting away to our home on Amelia Island provides instant stress relief,” Marlee explains. “Todd is a sun worshiper, so he enjoys the beach most in the spring and summer, while the fall and winter are my favorite seasons” Walking and running along the beach, eating seafood (both at home and at on of several favorite local spots), reading under a beach umbrella or in their hammock, or shopping in the town’s quaint shops are just a few of their favorite pastimes. “Without a doubt, my favorite way to spend time is curled up on the back porch with a good book and the ocean in front of me,” Marlee says. Visitors are a welcome and frequent presence at the Krohns’ second home. As both Todd and Marlee grew up as beach lovers (Todd was raised in Ft. Lauderdale, and Marlee’s family has vacationed on Amelia Island since she was a little girl), their relatives naturally enjoy vacationing with the couple on Amelia Island.
	Guests take advantage of the water with body boards, rafts and other beach toys, while land lovers are drawn to the town’s charming shops. Todd and Marlee would jump at the chance to live in their treasured second home full-time, but “real life” makes the dream impractical for now. However, Marlee points out that the beach house’s one “teeny-tiny” closet would pose a problem if Amelia Island was their primary home. “I couldn’t live with only one closet. We’d have to fix that,” she says with a laugh.